


Helljumpers of Corneria

by GaryOwen1965



Category: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms, Star Fox Series
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:02:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27446833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaryOwen1965/pseuds/GaryOwen1965
Summary: Abandoned/on permanent hiatus until further notice. Will be deleted in four days time. Same goes for all other stories.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Five weeks. That's how long it's been since the UNSC cruiser _Columbia_ has been drifting after narrowly escaping the Battle of Installation 00. The jump was compromised by the explosion on the Ark when the blast disrupted the integrity of the slipspace portal and left the _Columbia_ dead in space as a result once it emerged on the other side. Everyone onboard was thankful that the portal held long enough for end coordinates to be inputted into the computer system. The engines, however, ended up getting fried somehow; therefore, the _Columbia_ drifted without any means of mobilization.

Corporal Desmond Veritas found the five weeks frustratingly boring. He signed up to fight Covies, not sit on a dead ship with nothing to do. The young ODST had seen enough action to allow him to retire, despite only serving officially for almost three years. Desmond hated working with other people and considered himself bad luck because whenever he was assigned to a team, he was always the last one standing after every mission.

For the five weeks they've been drifting, Veritas had spent that time polishing his armor and running inventory checks on his equipment. Temporarily, he fought on the surface of the Ark, but never saw the Chief or the Arbiter. He did encounter the Flood and barely made it off with a few human and Sangheili survivors via a damaged Phantom. He couldn't get the images of his fellow Marines and ODSTs getting infected out of his head, and it would forever haunt him.

Veritas sighted, exhausted from the rapid turn of events that had transpired recently. On his lap lay his helmet, blue all over, visor and all, and with a recon binocular attachment. His armor rested next to this feet; blue, orange, with silvery-gray shoulder pieces. He stood out more than most ODSTs, and not just because of his unusual color scheme. He was younger than most of the more grizzled ODSTs, even the legendary 'Rookie' was older than him. Veritas also tried to keep from becoming too attached to anyone that he serves with, otherwise, when they are killed, he is left as an emotional wreck of tears, berating himself because he couldn't save them. The squad he led on the Ark was his worst loss so far. He still hears their screams in his sleep sometimes.

"Corporal Veritas," came a voice in front of him. He looked up to find a female marine standing in the doorway of his dorm. "The captain wishes to see you. ASAP." She left without another word. Veritas looked down at his helmet and stared into his reflection on the visor before he set it aside and proceeded to put his armor on. Once that was done, he grabbed his helmet and put it on and left the dorm, making his way to the bridge.

* * *

Captain Matthias King stared at the lush green planet before him, his tired grey eyes narrowing at the bright flashes on the other side of its orbit. His mind told him it was just some random Covenant stragglers, but his gut said otherwise. The fifty-three-year-old veteran sighed deeply through his nose before turning away from the bridge viewport and walking to the map table in the middle of the room, where the ODST he had asked for stood at ease.

"Corporal," he said, extending a hand to the soldier. "I didn't realize you got here so soon."

Veritas went to attention and accepted the handshake before snapping to his original position. "I like to be punctual and stay on my toes at all times, sir."

Matthias smirked at the young soldier. "And yet, no one has thought to promote you."

"I prefer my current rank, sir. I'm a follower, not a leader."

Matthias chuckled and lightly clapped Vertas's shoulder. "If you say so, corporal. But that isn't the reason why I called you up here." His expression turned serious and he removed his hand. "I need you to run recon on the planet displayed on this screen. Get me a layout of the surface, and avoid contact with any unknown forces."

"And if I can't?" Veritas asked bluntly.

"Then you're authorized to use deadly force only if necessary. But hopefully, it won't have to come to that."

"Understood, sir," Veritas replied firmly.

Matthias nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Go suit up, and prepare for drop. Also," he held up a finger and pointed at the ODST, "maintain radio silence throughout your mission until you're ready for exfil."

Veritas nodded. "Yes, sir." With that, he saluted, which Matthias returned, dropped the salute, about-faced, and marched out of the bridge, the door closing behind him. Now that he had a mission, he could finally get off this floating wreck and see some action. _Ooh-rah_.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just read the damn thing.

They were losing. There were some battles from the past that they nearly lost, only to gain a comeback and win at the of the day. Now, however, all seemed lost. Fara Phoenix knew it was futile to keep fighting. But her orders were to hold out as long as they could and take down as many Venomian bastards as possible. In other words, don't go down without a fight.

Outpost E-19 on the planet Fortuna had been under siege for over a month, and morale, supplies, ammunition, and able bodies were running low. Fara was just one of the thirty soldiers capable of defending the base out of the original two-hundred-sixteen stationed there. The rest were either wounded or, well, dead. Fara was the youngest of all the soldiers at Outpost E-19 at the age of nineteen. Everyone else was twenty or older. This was her very first combat assignment, and as with any new trooper fresh from boot camp immediately thrust into combat, she was already suffering from the side effects. Shellshock, sleepless nights, and constant combat fatigue; all were taking their toll on the young fennec fox. At least she had Fox, Miyu, Falco, and Katt by her side to keep her sane.

Fara sighed and leaned her head back against an empty crate, straining to keep her eyes open and prevent sleep from taking over. She let out a yawn, her maw opening widely and showing off the sharp canines and incisors that lined the inside of her top and bottom jaw. She clutched her blaster close to her person finger on the trigger and ready to fire. But the fatigue was slowly catching up to her, and her eyes rolled back and closed, her head lolled over to the side. Five minutes later, she felt someone kick her in the foot and she awoke with a start.

"On your feet, trooper!" a gruff voice yelled over her. "Keep those eyes open or those Venomian bastards will catch you snoozing and kill you!" Fara scrambled to her feet, quickly fixed her crooked helmet, and stood tall and erect at full attention. The speaker yelling at her was a male Russell Terrier, built in muscle and attitude. He was in his forties, and his rank insignia told Fara that he was a lieutenant, and he was a real nasty-looking one at that. "What are you staring at, trooper?! Eyes forward!" Fara fixed her eyes straight ahead while the terrier circled looking her up and down with beady black eyes. "You think you can sleep on the job when everything is at stake? Huh?! Is that it, Private Phoenix?!"

Fara quaked in her boots, but otherwise pulled herself together. "Sir, no I do not, sir!" She replied. The lieutenant huffed and stopped behind her. He leaned close and she could feel his hot breath in her ear.

"Damn right, private." He snaked a paw around her waist and started to sensually and softly rub her through her combat suit. "You know," he began moving closer and pressing up against her back, "it's a shame that a beauty like you has to fight in this forsaken war." His voice dropped to a whisper and hs paw drifted lower to her rump. "Why don't you take your R&R with me? I can take the tension out of you; make you _feel good_." He teased her neck with a tiny lick, making her body shudder and her breath become shallow. Thankfully, it was over before he could do anything else to her.

A gloved fist collided with his right cheekbone, sending the lieutenant sprawling onto the concrete, and startling Fara greatly. She turned to her rescuer, and found none other than Fox McCloud. The vixen was breathing heavily, glaring at the groaning form of the lieutenant. "Get up, McIlroy!" she roared. The terrier slowly rose to his feet, holding the side of his face. He whirled on Fox, his beady eyes burning with hatred, until he saw who it was and snapped to attention and saluted.

"Captain McCloud, ma'am."

"Cut that BS, McIlroy! I saw you harassing Private Phoenix, and that sort of behavior is not tolerated in the CDF. If you do anything like that again, I'll court martial you and send you home so fast it will make your head spin. Is that understood, _lieutenant_?"

"Yes, ma'am!" McIlroy said, his paws shaking with anger.

"Good. Now get your ugly, disgusting, perverted ass out of here and do something useful. Tower Three is in need of a replacement. Move." The terrier dropped his salute and stormed off to one of the watchtowers, clutching his sore cheek. Fox turned to Fara and pulled her into a hug. "Are you alright, sis?"

Fara let out a sob and shook her head, dropping her blaster as she wrapped her arms around Fox. The older vixen softly hushed her and brushed her paws up and down her back in an effort to comfort her. "It's okay. I'll see to it that he gets discharged for that. Fucking bastard deserves it." She sighed and pulled out of the hug, staring into Fara's teary blue eyes with her green. "Hey. It's over. He won't bother you anymore. Okay?" Fara nodded. "Good. Now, how about we get you inside and you can get some needed rest. Falco and I will take over."

Fara sniffed and nodded. "Yes. That's fine. Thank you, Fox."

Fox smiled. "You're welcome. Anything for my little sister."

"I'm not your actual sister. I'm adopted, remember?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't do everything in my power to protect you. Come on. You need your rest."

* * *

That could have gone better. Veritas let out a groan as he rolled his neck and shoulders around to wring out the soreness in them after his not-so-soft landing. He found himself in the middle of what looked to be a rainforest. A humid, _muggy_ rainforest. After taking a good look at his surroundings, he proceeded to retrieve his gear and equipment from the SOEIV. He swung his backpack around onto his back, grabbed the MA5C from inside the pod, and started to make his way through the thick fauna.

He walked for about five kilometers before stopping to take a rest. Despite staying on his toes for the past five weeks since he's seen combat, he neglected to get any long hours of sleep. Two to three hours a day was all could muster. He yawned and set his rifle down beside him and opened up his VISR's map. Before he dropped, he requested for a geographical scan of the area he was dropping in and updated to his VISR. Now he had an idea of where to start his recon before giving the all-clear and the _Columbia_ could establish a small outpost to conduct minor ground operations from.

The 120-kilometer scan gave Veritas all he needed to kno about the lay of this particular part of the planet. And he was starting to doubt that the current plan would work with an alien base ten klicks east of his drop point. But upon closer observance,it appeared to be under attack. About 200 or so grey blips surrounded the the large, rectangular structure, and 30 more inside, of which the latter were moving around and across in a frantic manner. If he had to guess, the 30 blips were the defenders, and the 200+ blips the attackers.

He was startled out of his map-reading when a twig snapped loudly nearby. He closed the VISR, returning to the real world, reached for his weapon and readied it, and listened. He waited in silence, ears open for any sound. Then he heard voices, _female_ voices. His brain was befuddled by this, but he shook his head and focused on the approaching voices. Once they were within 20 yards of him or so, Veritas could clearly hear, and to his surprise, _understand_ , what the voices were saying:

"Miyu, are you sure you saw something here? How do we know it's not a Venomian patrol waiting to slit our throats?"

The one called 'Miyu' snorted and said, "Do Venomian patrols fall from the sky in great balls of fire? Hmm? Trust me Katt. I know what I'm doing."

'Katt' sighed. "I'd hate to see if you didn't." Their footsteps got closer, and close, and closer, until they were right on top of him and he could finally see who the voices belonged to. However, he wasn't expecting what the answer to that was. Katt and Miyu were alien females resembling an Earth lynx and a pink-furred Earth house cat in every little aspect and detail. They were humanoid in build, and like a human female, Katt and Miyu had breasts. The bodies were covered head-to-toe in fur, which in turn was covered by tight, form-hugging jumpsuits and pants that accented every single curve Katt and Miyu had. Then there were the tails that trailed behind them as they walked past him and his hiding spot, oblivious to his conspicuously-colored armor against the green vegetation. They were attached just above a pair of perfectly-rounded buttocks, and Veritas found himself staring longer than he was supposed to.

The ODST watched them as they went in the direction he came from... _where his pod was_. He cursed. If they found his pod, he would have a moral decision to make: kill the two aliens and keep his existence a secret but risk starting a war with the wrong side, or let them live and expose himself. Neither option was acceptable, but only one violated his given orders. As he sat in thought, more footsteps approached and he remained still, expecting more of those aliens to pass by him. He was right, but he was also wrong.

These aliens were a combination of reptilian and ape-like individuals dressed in black and red armor and carried ranged weaponry. Veritas observed them and deduced that they were stalking Katt and Miyu. Now his decision became more complicated. He had to either save these two females from those nasty-looking freaks, or let them die at their claws, or worse. Once the apes and reptiles were out of sight and earshot, Veritas slammed his fist into the ground, cursing as he did so. Why? Why did it have to be him? Why did there have to be two alien 'damsels-in-distress' on his recon mission? Why were his pants tight all of a sudden? He shook his head and ignored that last thought.

"Damn it," he cursed under his breath. "What now?" He sat in his hiding spot deep in thought, weighing his options. After five minutes had passed he'd made up his mind. With a defeated sigh, he rose to his feet and ran after Katt and Miyu's pursuers. "I'd better not regret this," he said to himself.

* * *

Despite his wishes, he was regretting trying to save the two alien females. He had greatly underestimated the number of apes and reptiles stalking Katt and Miyu and their capability. At first glance, they looked like a bunch of dysfunctional soldiers who couldn't do jack-squat. Until they managed to apprehend the two professionally trained individuals after losing half of their numbers. What's more, they made him _sick._ Once they had captured Katt and Miyu, they stripped them of their clothes and equipment and burned them, leaving them defenseless and half-naked in their undergarments. In his mind, he knew exactly which side was in the UNSC's best interests, and it was _not_ the apes and reptiles.

He had to save Katt and Miyu. Screw his orders. However, he had to be careful. He couldn't charge in guns blazing and risk the safety of their lives. But if he didn't act now, he was definitely regret not saving them in time. 'What to do, what to do?'

Veritas ground his teeth in desperate thought. There were six of those sick, perverted bastards, and they were all hungrily eyeing Katt and Miyu with tents in their pants. The sight disgusted the ODST. He wasn't going to let anything happen to these two girls. Not on his watch. He ground his teeth as he thought long and hard on what to do now. Then he sighed and shook his head. With a poorly-composed plan thought out, Veritas proceeded to execute it. "Here goes nothing," he said to himself as he rose to his feet and stepped out into the open, hands raised high above his head. "Greetings alien bastards. I come in peace." He was immediately met with six barrels pointed at him. He frowned under his helmet as the leader approached him. 'I better not regret this, too.'


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Again, just read the damn thing.
> 
> P.S. Leave some reviews and tell me what you think.

Miyu hated Venom and Oikonny, the head ape running the show. She hated everything and everyone that was tied to Venom, and she hated the apes and lizards that stood guard over her and Katt. They came out of nowhere and ambushed them. But they were sloppy and lost two-thirds of their patrol before they managed to overpower the two of them. But that wasn't the worst part. After tying them to each other back-to-back, the ape in charge of the patrol had her and Katt relieved of their clothing. At least they had the decency to let them keep their pants. Regardless, the two friends were glaring daggers at their sneering, stiff captors as they eyed them and their bare chests. Katt was the restless one, constantly spitting, hissing, and cursing at the apes and lizards.

Miyu sighed hopelessly, her gaze downcast at the ground. Then something unexpected happened:

"Greetings, alien bastards! I come in peace!" Her ears perked up and she raised her head to find out who was speaking. There, emerging from the thick foliage, was a strangely-colored armored figure. Their hands were raised in the air above their head in surrender, much to Miyu's dismay. In her mind, this guy, or girl, or whatever it was, was her and Katt's only chance of escaping, and they were willingly surrendering to Venom instead of charging in guns blazing and risking the two females' lives. On second thought, that would have been a bad idea. But still…

The lead ape in charge of the patrol stormed over to the stranger and demanded to know who it was and what it was doing here. The figure lowered their arms and replied, "My name is...Boba Fett. I'm a bounty hunter, and those two over there are my quarry." The stranger's voice calm and collected, muffled by the helmet they wore, and masculine. So it was actually a he, though judging by the youthful tone in their voice, he was probably no older than Katt and Miyu. Maybe younger. But that didn't matter. He was a _bounty hunter_ , with them as his target.

Miyu felt a shiver trail down her spin when the blank, reflective blue-tinted visor fell on her and only her. But there was something about that eyeless gaze that reassured Miyu everything was going to turn out fine. She couldn't explain it, nor did she want to. She just wanted this 'Boba Fett' or whoever he was to hurry up with whatever he had planned and get her and Katt our of here.

The lead ape looked over his shoulder at the two females then at Boba Fett and shook his head. "No can do, buck. Not unless me and my boys here get in on some of that bounty of yours. Otherwise, these lovely ladies aren't going anywhere." A chuckle rose up from the aforementioned patrol as the ape smirked at the bounty hunter. The armored figure, however, was unfazed by their obnoxious behavior, and he stood in silent thought, putting a gloved hand on the chin of his helmet. He briefly glanced up at Miyu and Katt, of which the former silently begged him to do something now with those big purple eyes of hers. 'Boba Fett' sighed and nodded reluctantly.

"Fine. How much?" he asked, hands on his belt.

"Forty-five percent," the ape sneered. "No less. Take it or leave it."

The bounty snorted. "Yeah right. How are you going to split 2.25 million credits between the six of you and spend it all during a war? Riddle me that, Mr. Bananas." No sooner than when the words left his mouth the entire forest fell silent. Even Katt and Miyu were shocked at what he called the ape.

The Venomian soldier in question staggered backwards slightly as if he'd taken a physical blow. "What...what did you call me?"

Boba Fett seemed to grin evilly beneath his visored helmet and took a step towards the ape. "You heard me," he said menacingly. The ape gulped and tugged on the collar of his uniform. "Now listen here, mate." He lunged forward and grabbed him by the vest and lifted him ever so slightly off the ground. "I am the most ruthless of all the bounty hunters in this tiny, cruel, insignificant universe. I've killed many who've dared to come between me and my prey." He brought the ape closer until his breath fogged up the glass on Boba Fett's visor. "And it didn't matter who it was or if there was a war going on. I. Will. Kill. Without hesitation. Capische?" The ape gulped and nodded frantically. "Good. Now, how much did you say you and your boys wanted to be paid? Fifteen percent?"

"Y-yeah. Sure. S-sounds good to me."

"Good. Now, you tell your boys to let those nice girls go so you can get your part of the reward." Veritas released him and the ape ordered the other five Venomian soldiers to cut Katt and Miyu free from their bonds. They did so, and the two females rose to their feet, covered their chests, and walked over to Boba Fett and hid behind him for protection.

"Alright," said the ape. "When can we expect to get paid?"

"'Paid'?" Boba tutted and shook his head. "I'm afraid there's been a quite sudden change in my plans." He raised an arm high above his head and in his hand was a round, blocky object with a button on its side. Despite never seeing it before, the five Venomian soldiers knew on instinct exactly what it was and they scrambled for safety in the thick foliage, while the leader remained where he was, his face frozen in shocked terror.

"You...you're mad! You'll kill us all!"

"Nope. Just you. So I suggest you better run like the wind before I send you flying in six different directions." The ape wasted no time at all. Before Katt and Miyu could blink, he was already high-tailing it into the forest and out of sight. Boba Fett then lowered his arm and reattached the grenade to the belt on his hip, then slowly turned to Katt and Miyu and gave them each a sweeping glance of his visor.

Miyu was the first to speak up. "Thanks for the help, Mr. Fett." She furrowed a brow at him and smirked. "If that's even your real name."

He shook his head and said, "I guess nothing gets past you, does it, Miss…?"

"Lynx," she finished for him, uncrossing her arms and extending a furred, clawed hand towards him, giving him an eyeful of her bare, generously-sized bust in the process. "Miyu Lynx." He accepted the greeting and shook hands with her before releasing her hand. Miyu gestured to the pink-furred cat next to her with a quick jerk of her head. "This is Katt Monroe, my best friend and comrade-in-arms."

The man looked at Katt, who simply smiled and nodded. He nodded in return and turned back to Miyu. "I'm Corporal Desmond Veritas of the UNSC. I'm here on recon, or I was until I spotted the two of you in a bit of trouble. I had strict orders to not make contact with anyone non-UNSC affiliated, and I disobeyed them by saving you."

"Oh," Miyu blinked. "Well, regardless, we appreciate the assistance, corporal. I'm sure your commander will understand your morally-challenging dec-" A loud boom in the distance startled the three of them, but only Veritas looked up at the sky and cursed.

"Looks like he found out." He nodded to the both of them. "I need to go. Take these and wait here. I'll be back momentarily." With that, he turned on his heel and ran off into the thicket, leaving Katt and Miyu topless and with only one grenade and one gun to defend themselves with.

Once he was out of view, Katt turned to Miyu and said, "Did he seriously just ditch after he saved us?"

Miyu shrugged before looking down at the two objects in her hands. "I don't know. He did say he'd come back, right?" She scoffed lightly and shook her head. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think we should trust him." She turned to Katt. "Let's get our stuff over by that tree there. At least they kept our vests."

* * *

Veritas stood at attention-rifle in his hands-as he watched the Pelican touch down and lower its ramp to deposit its cargo. Twelve marines poured out the back and secured a small, circular perimeter around the dropship, before one of them stood up and sprinted towards Veritas. "Corporal," the marine said in a medium British accent. "Specialist Chips Dubbo at your service. Captain King sent us to aid you in securing a rally point for our outpost. Supplies, ammunition, additional troops, and heavy armor are on stand-by and waiting for the all-clear."

Veritas nodded. "Very good, Specialist Dubbo. But I'm afraid we're going to have to delay that." Dubbo tilted his head questioningly as the Pelican revved up its thruster and departed noisily.

"Why is that?" he asked, once the deafening roar had faded completely.

"I've unintentionally, bot mostly unavoidably, made contact with the two main factions at war on this planet. And only one of them are in the UNSC's best interests," he replied.

Dubbo nodded in understanding. "Ah. That's the other reason why we're here. The captain had your helmet's live feed tapped into the moment you made contact with the aliens. We know who to shoot and who not to shoot."

One of the marines piped up jokingly. "In other words, we don't shoot the pretty alien girls." A small bout of chuckles rose among the others, but Veritas remained silent.

Dubbo cleared his throat and said, "Right then. Shall we get a move on and meet our new allies? I'm sure they could use some reinforcements, eh?"

Veritas nodded once in affirmation. "That they could. Let's go. Stay alert, and stay close."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a review if you'd like. I need some feedback. Or just check out my stuff on fanfiction.net :)

Miyu let out a sigh as she leaned up against a tree and examined her nails. Nearly ten minutes had passed and there was no sign of this 'Corporal Veritas' and his 'backup'. She was starting to think that maybe Katt was right and he did abandon them after saving their butts from a bunch of horny and dimwitted Venomian soldiers wanting to get in their pants. Miyu felt stupid for trusting this guy too eagerly and mentally berated herself for it. But there was one thing that made her still have hope. It was the fact that Veritas, before he went on his way to get his 'backup', gave her his gun and a grenade. She relayed this information to Katt, asking her if he had abandoned them, why would he do such a thing and give the two of them two of his items? But the pink-furred feline remained adamant and stuck with her belief that Veritas did up and left them. Miyu gave up and resigned to her current position against the tree. Deep down, she really hoped Katt was wrong and Veritas would return, because she believed that by now Venom may or may not have overrun and taken the base. If that was the case, she and Katt couldn't go back without backup and risk capture.

Miyu sighed again, her ears drooping slightly, and she inspected the weapon in her hands. It was ballistic-based, instead of the standard energy-based weaponry that both the CDF and Venom used to this day. She remembered from history class - a class she despised - that in the early years of the Lylat, the CDF used ballistics for their main standardized weaponry, as did everybody else. But years later, due to the grotesqueness of the weapons and the sensitivity of some Cornerians, they were banned and replaced with the energy weapons of the present day. Good thing he didn't use it on those bastards, she thought to herself. Personally, she was not fond of blood and gore, especially after she read stories about how devastating 'bullets' can be. She shuddered at the mere thought of it. 'Snap!'

Katt and Miyu jumped at the noise and whirled on it with their weapons at the ready, only to find Veritas emerging from the bushes. Both Cornerians let out a sigh of relief, but only Miyu approached the ODST. "Thank goodness it's you," she said with a smile. "We were beginning to think that you had abandoned us."

He tilted his helmed head to the side questioningly. "Why would I do that? It's obvious you and your cause are in need of assistance, and I'm going to provide just that."

"How?" Katt demanded, stepping forward. "It's just you, me, and Miyu against an entire battalion." She placed her hands on her hips and cocked them to the side. "Where did you go anyway?"

"He went and met us," said an accented voice that was strangely similar to Krystal's, only more masculine. Behind Veritas, to Katt and Miyu's shock and mild horror, were twelve furless creatures that neither female had ever seen before. They were clad in black tops, tan camouflage pants, and field-drab armor pieces on the shoulders, chest, knees, and head. The speaker sidled up next to Veritas and gave the two Cornerians a nod. "Sergeant, and...sergeant. My name is Specialist Chips Dubbo of UNSC Strike Team Echo. Codename, 'Demon Dogs'. My troops and I are all the help you're going to get until we can secure your outpost and turn it into our forward base of operations." Katt and Miyu stared at Veritas, Dubbo, and the others in shocked, open-mouthed disbelief. Two thoughts ran through their heads as they did: What the heck are they, and where's the rest of them?

"This...is it?" Katt asked slowly.

Veritas and Dubbo nodded simultaneously. "Afraid so," the latter replied.

"But how are we going to take back E-19, huh?" Miyu directed the question at Veritas. "What about your captain? Can't they just give us a tank or something?"

The ODST shook his head. "No. The forest cover is too thick. My drop pod barely broke through the canopy, even at max terminal velocity."

Katt and Miyu exchanged glances. Then Miyu turned to Dubbo and said, "Got any spare guns then? We're kinda defenseless here. We won't be able to do anything without them anyway."

Dubbo flashed a quick smile and gave an order over his shoulder. Two soldiers then came to the front with an armful of guns and magazine clips. "Two BR55Bs for two lovely ladies," he said as they handed the items to Katt and Miyu, before he was nudged none too softly by Veritas.

After Katt and Miyu were familiar with their new weapons, they, Veritas, and the strike team advanced towards the besieged Outpost E-19.

* * *

Fox roared furiously as she mowed down a wave of Venom troops with a heavy repeating blaster in her hands. The weapon bucked wildly in its unwieldy state, held like on would a chainsaw or a minigun. Yet, despite this, Fox was able to keep the courtyard from being overrun yet again; this was the eighth wave in a span of a single hour. Once the last Venom soldier fell lifelessly to the ground, Fox released the trigger and dropped her weapon with a heavy sigh. The past hour had taken its toll on her and her soldiers. Only 4 were able-bodied; 5 if Katt and Miyu hadn't wandered off into the surrounding forest.

Fox jumped down from her perch and walked towards a large pile of rubble, where three of her soldiers sat behind it, exhausted and covered in grime and dirt. A jackal, caracal, Falco, and Fara, looked up at their leader with tired eyes. "How are y'all holding up?"

The jackal turned her head to the side, spat on the ground, and looked up at Fox. "We're still living and breathing, ma'am. How many was that this time? 20? 30?"

"Almost 60," Fox said, sitting down across from them. "It's safe to say that we can expect twice as many next time." She sighed and shook her head. "I don't know how much more we can take. Low on ammor, nearly everyone is out of action; wounded or dead."

Boom! The four of them jumped at the loud explosive rumble and looked around for the source. "What the heck was that?" the jackal said, sitting up on her haunches with her blaster pistol at the ready. Fox poked her head out from their cocer and narrowed her eyes at the main gate. There was nothing there. Then the gunfire started, and a squad of Venom soldiers came running through the gate, shooting at whoever their attackers were behind them. But one by one, they fell to the ground dead with each loud crack. The last remaining soldier stopped and faced his pursuers and sprayed a hail of laser fire at them, until he suddenly jerked violently when the air erupted into the unmistakable sound of ballistic gunfire. When it stopped, the soldier fell to the ground in a crumpled heap. Fox gaped in horror at the spectacle that just took place. She quickly ducked behind the pile of rubble and signaled for the other four to take defensive positions. They all nodded and, while staying in cover, took aim at the main gate.

For a moment, there was silence and no sign of any life outside the outpost. Then a figure poked their head around the corner, and Fox instantly recognized it as Miyu's. The vixen fully revealed herself and waved at her oldest friend, who grinned and ran towards her. "Fox!" The lynx dropped a long black object to the ground just before she embraced Fox in a tight hug. "Thank goodness you're alright." She pulled away and looked around. "Damn. You've been busy."

Fox smiled and nodded wearily. "Yeah, I know. Where were you and Katt? I thought the both of you were-"

"Hey," Miyu said sternly, placing a hand on Fox's shoulder. "Don't you dare finish that sentence. That's no way to talk. As for where Katt and I ran off to, well…" She stepped out of the way and indicated a group of thirteen armored, furless creatures, and Katt, as they entered the base. When Fox saw them, she almost aimed her weapon at them. But Miyu stopped her and said, "We met some new friends that are willing to help us win this war." Fox was shocked at the individuals' appearances. They lacked fur on their faces, arms, and hands. But only one was fully-enclosed in armor, colored in blue, orange, and silver, with a black bodysuit underneath. The blue helmet had a blue-tinted visor that reflected the outside world. Fox felt a chill shoot down her spine when the figure looked straight at her. What further surprised her was the fact that it spoke perfect Cornerian Common as it addressed her.

"Captain Fox McCloud, I presume?" The voice was muffled because of the mask, but it was obvious that the speaker was a rather young male.

Fox snapped out of her initial shock with a shake of her head and replied. "Yes. May I ask who you are?"

The figure nodded. "Corporal Desmond Veritas of the UNSC Columbia." He indicated the group behind him. That's Strike Team Echo, Demon Dogs, Led by Specialist Chips Dubbo."

The soldier mentioned by Veritas stepped forward and offered Fox his hand in greeting. She accepted it and 'Chips' spoke up. "Pleasure to meet ya, captain. Sergeant Lynx here was kind enough to share your tales of valor with us. We're you back up for now."

Fox nodded slowly in understanding. "I see. Well, Specialist Dubbo, you and the corporal's timing is impeccable. More than three quarters of my troops are either dead or injured, and we're about to be overrun any moment now. With your arrival, we're just delaying the inevitable."

Chips smiled, his smooth, fleshy features wrinkling slightly at the edges. "I think you're underestimating us and our abilities, marm. We Marines, and ODST, are the most badass units in the entire Milky Galaxy. A bunch of scalies and primates aren't anything we haven't handled before." He turned to the group behind him. "Am I right, fellas?"

They raised their fists and weapons in the air with a loud resonating cry. "Ooh-rah!"

Fox watched them curiously. _Peculiar creatures they are_ , she thought to herself.

"Captain," Veritas said, bringing her attention to him. Where are your wounded? Dubbo has a couple of medics he can spare, and I'm sure you could use the extra hands."

Fox nodded. "Yes, of course. They're inside with everyone else. I'll take them there personally."

Chips called out the two medics by their names, 'Mendez' and 'Rourke', and they moved to the front next to him. Fox greeted them, they saluted her, and she led them inside the base where the wounded were being treated, away and safe from the ongoing battle outside.

As Fox left with the two medics, Veritas turned to Miyu and Chips and gave them their next set of orders. "Specialist, I need you and your men to cover the gate from every possible angle. We defend this outpost until the Columbia can send us fresh supplies and troops." Chips nodded and ordered his remaining soldiers to take their positions. Veritas then turned to Miyu. "I need you and Katt to restock on your plasma weaponry, maybe a quick bite too. And get a shirt back on."

Miyu flashed him a smile and cocked her hips to the side. "What? You don't like what you see? I'm a little offended to be honest. And who are you to be giving a sergeant orders, corporal?" Veritas, ignoring the first part of what she said, realized his blunder and apologized. Miyu only chuckled and playfully smacked his chestplate, but she instantly regretted doing so. "Ow. I'm just messing with ya, Veritas. Nothing wrong with that. But you're right about one thing." She hooked her thumbs around the front of her vest. "These things are a pain to wear without any clothing underneath, and bra just won't cut it. Save some bad guys for us, will ya?"

Veritas shrugged. "Can't guarantee that, sergeant. Those of us in the Marine Corps are very thorough when it comes to killing the enemy. But I'll pass the word along, see if we can keep one or two of those bastards alive long enough for you to give them hell."

Miyu smiled and lightly punched him in the arm where it was unarmored, drawing a slight flinch from him. "Alright. See ya in a jiff. Come on, Katt." She passed by Veritas, brushing her side against him as she did before disappearing inside the compound with Katt following close behind. Veritas watched them go and slowly shook his head.

 _How can one be so optimistic in a time like this_? he thought to himself in bewilderment. Then Chips sidled up next to him and nudged him with his elbow, smiling. "Hey, corporal. I think she likes you, this 'Miyu'. She is quite the looker, eh?"

Veritas looked at the Marine blankly with his visored helmet. "For a cat, you mean?"

His smile faltered and he cleared his throat before he walked away awkwardly. Veritas sighed and stared at his feet, clenching his fists. He only said that because he didn't want Chips to know that he was right. For an alien that looked exactly like an animal from Earth, Miyu was very attractive. Veritas quickly shook his head and walked towards the other four Cornerians to prepare for the approaching attack. Time to show them what a Helljumper really does.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stuff happens, shit happens, whatever. Shut up and enjoy the chapter.

Admiral Silver stared at the screen deep in thought. It was a holographic display of Fortuna's orbit, where her fleet and Venom's fleet were locked in a tense stalemate. Neither side seemed to want to make a move, for fear of being taken surprise and then obliterated into smithereens. On one side was the CDF fleet, waiting with open jaws for Venom to make their move. On the other side was Venom, devising some fiendish plan that didn't involve the impending space battle one bit. But Admiral Dawn Silver didn't know that. Nor did she seem to care. Instead, she was focused entirely on something other than Venom, that was _not_ Venom.

Completely on the other side of the planet, hidden from the naked eye, was another ship; one of unknown origin. It had appeared several weeks ago, but there were no signs of activity in that time frame. Until now. Scanners picked up a small pod or a probe of some kind making its way from that ship and onto the surface of Fortuna. Projections showed that it landed not far from where Fox and her team was pinned down; a small military base called Outpost E-19. This unnerved Silver to her very bones. If this ship was showing an interest in Outpost E-19, then Silver had every reason to worry about Fox and her team. But she couldn't be sure if they meant any ill-will to the CDF in general. She silently hoped not.

After she visually scanned the display for the millionth time in five weeks, she sighed and pinched the bridge of her snout. She was an arctic vixen, but with a slight abnormality in her fur color; she was jet black, save for the white 'socks' on her hands and feet. Her officer's uniform fit snugly on her curvy body, with the top two buttons undone to allow her large bust to breathe, showing off a generous amount of cleavage to the entire personnel of the CDF. She was single, which meant that, unfortunately for her, there were numerous males in the CDF and back on Corneria aching for some attention for her. Unfortunately for _them_ , however, the only 'attention' she gave them was a sharp disapproving glare to ward off any potential 'mates'.

Silver looked to her lieutenant, an equally busty and curvy cheetah, and said, "Collins. Get O'Donnell and her team up here on the bridge for a mission brief, ASAP." All eyes fell on Silver like she had lost her mind. In a way, she has for wanting the most notorious mercenary team in the entire Lylat to waltz right onto the bridge of a prized CDF ship. But she didn't care. She knew who she wanted to take care of this 'alien ship' business, and she wanted it done swiftly and without question. Who better to call than Wolf O'Donnell and the Iron Wolves? "You heard me correctly, Collins," Silver said calmly. "Get O'Donnell on the bridge, now." When the cheetah didn't move, Silver barked sharply at her. "Go!"

* * *

"Come on, O'Donnell! Show this ape of a rhino what for!"

"Yeah, sis! Show _everyone_ what for!"

Ruby 'Wolf' O'Donnell let out a huff as she stared up at the rhino NCO seated across from her, their right hands locked in an intense arm wrestling match. And by 'intense', I mean 'not really going anywhere'. The lupine and the rhino were pretty much evenly-matched. Neither one of them was able to pin the other's arm to the table and claim victory, despite the rhino being nearly five times Wolf's size. For now, it was just a test of endurance. Who go on the longest resisting their opponent until they eventually gave in? Answer: the rhino. The match lasted five minutes overall, and Wolf hardly broke a sweat. The rhino, on the other hand, was 'huffing and puffing' until he 'got blown down' by Wolf as she slammed his arm to the table with such force that he fell out of his chair and onto the floor, much to the shocked dismay of his colleagues.

Wolf snorted in amusement as she rose from her seat. "Look at you, Mack. Got beat by a girl. How… _humiliating_." She gave the rhino and his fellow soldiers a sneer before she called to her team and walked out of the room. They followed her and the group made their way to the mess hall for a bite to eat. Along the way, soldiers and crew members alike pinned themselves to the walls to allow Wolf and her pack to pass through.

The Iron Wolves was a mercenary team founded and built from the ground up by Wolf O'Donnell herself. She enlisted the help of her younger sister Kate, a white-furred wolfess of about twenty-two, and several more Cornerians of the lupine species and female gender. They were notorious and widely-known for their work in sabotage, espionage, and demolition. The CDF – mainly Generals Pepper and Peppy Hare – offered the two O'Donnell's, and the others, a full investment for the rest of their lives in order to gain their unquestionable loyalty and prevent any double-agent scenarios. So far, it's been working; four years have gone by, and Venom has slowly been losing their foothold on most of the planets in the Lylat system. And at little cost for the CDF. On Fortuna, however, that was a different story. The resulting ground war and space battle ended up taking a heavy toll on both the CDF and Venom. Then the fighting in orbit came to a stalemate, while the fighting on the surface was about to result in the CDF to lose their first battle in four years.

But that was their problem, not Wolf's or her team's.

Wolf O'Donnell was born into a poor family alongside two siblings: Sean O'Donnell and Kate O'Donnell. They grew up in the lower-class part of Corneria City, with both parents working small jobs that paid below minimum wage. When the terrorist bombings from splinter groups that would later become Venom began, the O'Donnell children were without parents. Sean was twenty, Wolf was seventeen, and Kate was twelve. James McCloud and Vixy Reinard came to their aid and took the children under their wing. Then Vixy was killed in a car bomb that was meant for James. Fox McCloud was distraught by the loss of her mother, as were the O'Donnell children; she was a mother to all of them. Two years later, Sean was killed in a firefight that would become the first armed combat encounter between the newly-formed CDF and the highly-fanatical Venom Separatists led by former Doctor Andross. James McCloud leaves his daughter and the O'Donnell children to themselves and starts the legendary mercenary team soon to be known as Star Fox, only to be killed himself thanks to the traitor Pigma Dengar. When Fox heard of this and learns of Pigma's whereabouts, she went out looking for revenge, but Wolf stopped her. Or tried to, rather. She failed and ended up with a scar over her left eye so grotesque that she has to wear an eyepatch. Wolf still hasn't forgiven Fox for that to this day. Wolf O'Donnell was now in her mid-twenties, approximately between 26 and 27, was curved in all the right places, had a generously-sized bust, and possessed a very short temper; you best not get on her bad side. Kate O'Donnell was more modestly built than her big sister and had white fur, but attracted more attention than her, despite the reputation of the Iron Wolves. However, she's never dated anyone thanks to Wolf constantly scaring off any potential mates before things could get started on the right foot.

When the Iron Wolves entered the ship's mess hall, it immediately fell silent once they came into the patrons' sights and all eyes fell on the all-female group of lupines. But the group ignored the disapproving glares and quiet whispers as they got their food and sat down at an empty table and ate to their heart's content. But before any of them could finish their first bite, the overhead P.A. system squealed and a voice came through from the other end. " _Iron Wolves to the bridge, Iron Wolves to the bridge. Admiral Silver's orders._ "

One of the team members cursed and threw her plastic knife across the room with such force that it shattered upon impact with the metal wall. "I haven't even started on my graush yet! This is so BS." She pounded her fist on the table and looked at Wolf. "What are we needed for!?

The addressed lupine only shrugged as she took a bite from a very crumbly and stale biscuit. "I don't know. Does it look like I can read minds like the commander?" The air around the team became very still upon mentioning of the telepathic Cerinian Commander of the CDF 1st Fleet.

"Wolf," Kate began in a low tone, leaning forward over the table. "you know everyone gets a little antsy whenever _You-Know-Who_ is mentioned, right? Even the team feels uneasy around her. She's a bit… _creepy_."

Wolf gave her only sibling a look, to which the white wolfess responded with a shrug as she sat back down in her seat. Wolf sighed and shook her head before returning to her meal. After a minute had passed, Wolf suddenly rose to her feet, picked up her tray, and left the table saying, "Get your butts in gear, team. I guess we better find out what the admiral wants with us. We can eat later." The team groaned in disappointment before begrudgingly obeying their leader's orders.

* * *

He was tired. Exhausted; fatigued; etc. For seven hours straight Veritas, Strike Team Echo, and Fox's dwindling forces fended off several waves of Venom infantry, armor, and special forces. They were low on ammo; the UNSC weapons were empty before 10 minutes had gone by since the assault picked up speed and intensity. Veritas and his fellow soldiers, human and Cornerian, were forced to scavenge Venom weaponry whenever they had the chance during brief breaks in between waves. Repeated attempts by the _Columbia_ to rearm and resupply the battered forces in E-19 were discouraged by the still-functioning AA systems that did not recognize the Pelicans and Albatross's. Veritas and whoever was left, inside the base and out in the courtyard were starving and thirsty. What little K-Rations remained on the human soldiers were nothing but crumbs after being evenly distributed as much as possible between everyone. It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep them fighting for as long as they have. And even as hardened and non-pessimistic as he was, Veritas was beginning to wonder if reinforcements would ever come to their relief. He wasn't the only one, however.

Miyu, as _cheery_ and _upbeat_ as she was, felt _gloomy_ and _pessimistic_. She had little hope that back-up was coming to their aid. As did everyone else. Miyu sighed and let out a yawn. Then she looked over at Veritas, the mysterious 'human' who had come to her and Katt's aid this morning; hiding behind that peculiarly colored armor of his. Miyu wondered if it was a shell that most quiet and mysterious people, such as Veritas, wore to hide whatever horrible past they harbored. If that was the case, that would explain why he rarely talked to anyone unless it was giving or receiving orders. She felt almost sorry for him. Whatever he may have gone through back in his world must have been extremely traumatic for him to act like this. Of course, when she looked at the other humans, they looked like they've been through Hell and back numerous times, despite their apparent 'five weeks of respite'.

Miyu caught herself staring at Veritas longer than was needed and looked away. However, the move didn't go unnoticed. The human known as 'Chips Dubbo' was sitting next to her and spoke up after she had looked away from the ODST. "Hey," he said low enough for just the two of them to hear. Miyu glanced over at the human, whose face was covered in soot and gunpowder from his previously discarded weapon. "I saw what you were doing. What do you think of him?"

Miyu swallowed back the lump in her throat and was about to say "I don't know what you're talking about,", but knew that it was futile and the human was already onto her. With a sigh, she bowed her head before she said, "Honestly? I have no idea. He's so… _detached_ , you know?"

Chips nodded. "Aye. That he is, sarge. Veritas is one of the best ODSTs that we have. Well, on our ship, really. Before he joined up with the Corps, he was a shy lad. The war hadn't showed up on his planet yet. When it did, he was the only survivor that was able to be evacuated."

Miyu gaped at Chips in horror. "That's…that's horrible! His family was killed?"

Chips nodded again; a bit somber. "That's correct. He was only 14 at the time. Of course, like any one of us would do, he wanted to join up as soon as he could. Problem was, he had to be eighteen before he could serve. He was upset. Really upset. So, he signed up with the militia for four years, fighting against the Covenant on a rotational basis. He rarely got to see any action, considering his age. But when he did, he was a blur. I was there on one instance, attached to the militia stationed there as part of a training exercise to better improve their combat skills. We were attacked out of nowhere, just like with every other planet we've lost to the Covenant. Our base was overrun in a matter of minutes, but Veritas there," he pointed at the ODST in question and shook his head with a soft chuckle. "He was an absolute madman. Or teen. He took down a Hunter bond pair using only an M6 and two grenades. Then he slaughtered ten split-lip squads with his own hands. Talk about a hormonal teenager. But neither of us had seen anything like it. We now knew why he wanted to sign up; kid's a fighter. A damn good one, too. Four years later, he was almost immediately indicted into the ODST program. He made it top of his class. He's been fighting for almost six years now, but only officially for two years." He paused for a moment to allow Miyu to digest the information that was given to her bit by bit before resuming. "He's been a leader of a squad several times, but thanks to some paranoid, superstitious and idiotic commanders and such, he was demoted from Sergeant First Class to Corporal. The reason being that whenever he went out with his ODST team or a Marine squad, he was always the only to make it back alive. No one knew why that was, but it led to him growing bitter, cold, and _very detached_. He's lost several close friends on multiple deployments and he blames himself for their deaths. But the worst loss he's probably ever suffered is from five weeks back, before we ended up here in your system."

"That's enough out of you, Dubbo," Veritas called out, startling the Marine and Miyu. "I don't need anyone else digging into my past any more than you already have." They turned and looked at the ODST, who was looking at them both through his solid blue-tinted visor. "Get some rest while you can. It's been ten minutes since the last attack, so enjoy this break while it lasts." With that, he turned his head away from them and fell silent. Then the steady rise and fall of his shoulders signified that he had fallen asleep. Chips cleared his throat and said, "I think we better listen. I'll tell you more tomorrow. If we make it." He followed Veritas's example and turned away from Miyu before then falling into a heavy doze. Miyu watched both humans, glancing from one side to the other, before dropping her gaze onto Veritas.

Even with the little information she got from Chips, she knew enough to see that Veritas was in pain. In all aspects. _'Fourteen years old?'_. She couldn't believe what she had heard. She did the math and found that Veritas was only twenty, but had enough experience to be considered an aged veteran with 30 or more years of experience. She shook her head, her blue eyes gazing sadly at the ODST. Now she really did feel sorry for him. Having to go through something like that was not what anyone deserved. And from all that pain, rose a cold-hearted killer. The loss of family and fellow squadmates whom had grown close to him drove the ODST to put up walls and never feel again. But Miyu, being the rebellious tomboy and stubborn woman she was, came up with an idea right there and then to tear down those walls. She was going to get him to feel again, and she wasn't going to stop until he did.

With a newfound determination and confidence, Miyu followed suit with the two humans and fell asleep, her plan formulating within the depths of her conscience.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like what you see? Consider checking me out on fanfiction.net or sofurry.com. I got some stuff going over on those two sites. Leave a comment/review, please! :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

Wolf let out a curse as she punched the manual eject button with a clenched fist and the cover to her pod burst open and flew several feet into the air before landing with a loud _thud_. She stepped out and rolled her shoulders and neck, getting the blood flowing again after a rather cramped and bumpy ride in an experimental drop pod that had a less-than-half success rate of dropping without killing its occupant. After the numbness in her body had subsided, she turned a 180 and glanced at the other pods and their occupants, all of whom had seen better days. Kate was stretching and twisting her body into very precarious poses that even the supplest of individuals could not perform. The other members of the Iron Wolves were following in a similar suit, doing whatever they could to get back into peak performance. After thirty seconds or so had gone by, Wolf decided that break time was over and began barking orders. The team gathered their gear and equipment and began their trek towards Outpost E-19.

Along the way, they encountered a large encampment of Venom forces, possibly a supply outpost for rearming and resupplying the assault on E-19, but Wolf ordered her team to stand down and to go around the camp instead. They did so reluctantly. An opportunity to get some action, and they have to take a detour instead. Wolf knew how they felt, as she was itching for a bit of action herself, but her orders were to head for E-19 and investigate for any remaining signs of allied forces. Once that was done, they were to make for an area where some alien dropships were lingering for some time before departing for their mothership on the other side of the planet; away from the conflict zone. Or was it the other way around? In doubt, Wolf briefly paused and reread her mission briefing. It was the other way around. She let slip another curse and redirected her team Northeast, twenty klicks South of E-19.

Upon reaching two klicks from their destination, Wolf posted her hand and signaled for her team to take recon positions in the rocky outcrop overlooking a shallow valley. She had Kate and one other wolf follow her to a bushy area and they scanned the valley below with a single electro-binoculars shared between the three of them. They completely unprepared for what they found next.

A small base, complete with guard posts and all the necessities for a battalion-sized army, was undergoing final preparation. The dropships that Silver's ship picked up on its scanners were flying in and out from the base, depositing troops, supplies, and what looked to be armor and vehicles. But what really took Wolf and the Iron Wolves by surprise was that the alien soldiers were similar to the Venom apes, but furless all over. And unlike Venom, they appeared to be well-trained soldiers, which made them even more dangerous.

"Marge," Wolf said into her earpiece. "Get a closer look. I want to hear what they're saying."

"Copy that, O'Donnell. Sending out Mite-Bot. And…deployed. Connecting you to live audio feed in 30 seconds."

Wolf spotted the miniature drone through the binoculars and announced, "Got eyes on Mite-Bot, Marge. Remember, stay out of sight. We don't want to alert these things to our presence."

"Don't worry, boss," came Marge's voice on the other side of the comms. "No one's going to even know I'm there."

"Wolf does," Kate cut in. "She's 'got eyes on Mite-Bot'."

"Shut up, Kate," Marge growled. But Wolf jumped in and halted the argument before it began.

"Cut the chatter, both of you," she snapped. "Marge, where's that live feed?"

A sigh was heard, followed by the wolfess saying, "Connecting live feed… _now_."

A crackle and hiss of static filled everyone's earpieces, forcing them to cringe at the obnoxious and irritating sound. Then it faded away and was gradually replaced by the shouting voices of the hairless apes in the valley below:

_"Get out of the way! Make room for the Pelican, damn it! Move, move, move!"_

_"Sergeant! Get your squad and move those crates into that tent over there!"_

_"Aye, sir!"_

Wolf and the others sat and listened in silent amazement and disbelief; they couldn't believe their ears. Here were a bunch of aliens, more professionally organized than Venom was, amassing in force and speaking a language that other alien species – excluding the Cerinians – could barely speak, let alone understand, without any trouble. These creatures were speaking it as clearly as any normal Cornerian could. It was inconceivable. If anything, Wolf thought that spelled trouble. "Wolf," came another voice; Alana, the team's marksman specialist/sniper.

"What is it, Alana?" Wolf inquired after recovering from her initial shock from just moments ago.

"I've got eyes on what appears to be an officer of some sort."

"Can you identify the rank?" Wolf asked.

"Actually, yes. I can. A major, and it looks like they're talking to someone on some hologram," Alana replied.

"Marge," Wolf began, after a short consideration. "Get closer to that officer; find out what it's saying."

"Roger that, boss. Approaching target."

As the Mite-Bot, now 'invisible' to Wolf and the other two with her through the electro-binoculars, flew closer to the alien officer, the louder and clearer the alien's voice became:

 _"…understand, sir. But according to our pilots, the base that the corporal and the Demon Dogs are holed up in is heavily defended by barely functional – yet still deadly – AA defenses. It's going to take time to gather ourselves here before heading out to reinforce them and our new allies."_ The second voice from the hologram was garbled, but Wolf and the others could partially make it out.

_"Time is something that the corporal and his outnumbered team do not have, major. This 'McCloud' that he mentioned, before we lost contact with him, said that they do not have enough sufficient supplies and equipment to make it to the end of the day. They need our help. Move out as soon as possible. I've received reports that there is an enemy base not far from you. Make the first move and take them out before moving to this Outpost Echo-Nineteen. Understood?"_

The major snapped off a salute. _"Sir, yes sir."_

The alien in the hologram nodded in satisfaction before it switched off on its end and the hologram itself disappeared. Wolf, Kate, and Liza – the heavy-weapons expert – looked at each other with disbelieving and shocked looks. "Did…" Kate began, "did that _thing_ just say that—"

"They need to resupply McCloud and E-19?" Wolf finished for her, regaining her composure. "Yeah. That shines a whole new light on our extraterrestrial visitors."

 _"Should we tell the admiral, boss?"_ asked Alaina.

Wolf moved her eyes to the ground and went into deep thought. After some time of consideration, she'd made up her mind. "No. We're going down there and find out if they are who they say they are. If so, then we help them take out that Venom camp we bypassed a ways back before heading to E-19 and help out McCloud and this 'corporal'."

"And if not?" Liza inquired with a raised eyebrow.

Wolf shook her head. "Then we run like the wind and pray that we make it out of there alive."

* * *

"Tank! Get down!"

Miyu Lynx heard Fox's warning a tad too late and she found herself being lifted off the ground and thrown roughly ten feet in the air before landing face-first onto a pile of fresh Venom corpses. She pulled herself out of the pile, coughing and gagging at the stench. She crawled into behind a pile of rubble and rested her back against it and panted heavily as she attempted to recover from her brief brush with death. The next thing she knew, Veritas and the others were running past her, giving off shots behind them as they retreated to the main complex where the remaining survivors resided in safety away from the conflict. The ODST stopped next to the dazed lynx and helped her to her feet. "Are you okay, sergeant?" He then took aim and domed a lizard in the head with a single shot from his scavenged Venom pistol.

Lynx quickly shook her head to rid herself of the slight daze and looked up at him. "Yeah," she said, still breathing heavily. "I'm fine. Let's get out of here before—"

"Miyu! Corporal! Look out!" The duo looked towards the advancing Venom forces and spotted an ape taking aim at Miyu and letting off a shot. Before she could blink, Miyu was shoved out of the way and onto the ground. Seconds later, she heard a grunt of pain and the sound of a body falling. She lifted her head and saw Veritas on his knees and clutching his stomach where the plasma bolt had made its lucky mark in between the sections of Veritas's armor. Panic set into her mind and she rushed over to the fallen ODST, wrapped an arm over his shoulder, and attempted to lift him to his feet. But he didn't budge. Instead, he made a choking sound, then he coughed, and fell prone, pulling Miyu down with him.

"No!" Miyu screamed. Wielding Veritas's weapon and her own, she stood up and quickly gunned down the ape responsible for the act, as well as several dozen more, in a blind and violent rage. When the pistols ran out of charge, she stormed the group of stunned Venom soldiers and bludgeoned each and every one of them to death with the butts of the pistols, until all the infantry lay dead. Then she turned on the tank and climbed on top of it, opened the main hatch, and jumped down inside. Fox and the others' shouts of protest fell on deaf ears as the tank shook and trembled and screams of pain came from inside. Then it went still, and Miyu climbed out and hopped down to the ground. When she stood up, she was a bloody mess. Ape and reptilian blood covered her head to toe, and coated her hands and muzzle. Her vest had been ripped to shreds, as did her shirt and the legs of her pants. Fox stared at the lynx's in horrified shock.

Miyu was panting hard and loud, her shoulder rising and falling with each breath. When she had finally calmed down and the red haze that filled her vision subsided, she shook her head dizzily before she collapsed to the ground in a crumpled heap. Fox recovered from the violent scene and rushed over to her friend – ordering the others to take Veritas to the med bay immediately – picked up Miyu in a fireman carry, and followed after the remains of her tattered forces inside the main complex.

* * *

Veritas's eyes flickered open, he took his first breath, and coughed violently. He ached all over his body. More so in the stomach. He let out a groan as he sat up and studied the afflicted area. His abdomen was wrapped in bandages and a gauze pad rested over the wound he'd suffered from a plasma burn. _No doubt it would have cauterized when it hit me,_ he thought to himself. He then noticed that he was out of his armor, and he suddenly felt naked and vulnerable. At least he still had his pants and boots on. A small sound to his right drew his attention and glanced over in that direction. He felt his stomach turn when he saw Miyu in an improvised hospital bed, made from several layers of quilts and bedsheets, with an IV tube running into her forearm and dried blood covering her entire body. He was appalled by what he saw, and he felt as if his sacrifice was for nothing. But then he noticed that her eyes were open and staring straight ahead of her, like she was lost in thought. His bed wasn't situated that far from hers; he was just within arms-length of her, and he reached out and touched her arm. She snapped out of whatever trance she was in and looked down at where Veritas made contact with her before glancing up into his face. At first, joy spread across her spotted and striped feline features, before it turned into that of sorrow and sadness.

"You're so… _young_ ," was all she said as her blue eyes searched his face before landing on his brown-green eyes that burned fiercely. But at the moment, the fire had died down into smoldering embers and Miyu saw what she thought to be genuine concern; a touch of feelings and emotions in the eyes of an alleged killing machine. For a brief moment, the walls he put up long ago had fallen, allowing her to see right into his broken soul; a soul that needed healing. The sorrowful look on her face faded and she smiled at him. A small, warm, friendly smile, and she attained a hold of his hand in her soft, padded, left hand. "Are you okay?"

He looked down at where her hand held his and stared at it for some time, before gently taking it away and sighing loudly. "I'll be fine. It's nothing I haven't gone through before." He looked over at her. "What about you? What happened to you?"

She donned a shameful expression and let out a sheepish laugh. "It's kinda hard to explain, but let's just say that I may or may not have wiped out that company of soldiers out in the courtyard."

Veritas raised his eyebrows. "The tank too?"

Miyu nodded slowly. "The tank too. Don't ask how I did it, because I don't remember anything except a red haze. The next thing I knew, I was here, half-naked and next to an unconscious you." She sighed and bowed her head. "I thought you were dead. You just made this gargling sound and laid there. I didn't know what to do. But it's over now. We're holed up in here until our nonexistent backup comes for us."

Veritas didn't know what to say. Here was this girl, an alien _cat_ girl, who took on an entire company of enemy soldiers, _and_ a _tank_ , all because she thought that he was dead. Technically, he did die. But thanks to the medics on Dubbo's team, he was brought back to the land of the living. He didn't want to tell that to Miyu, though. He was genuinely worried for her, and the only time he worried for some was when…He shook his head and looked away from Miyu, the feelings he spent six years trying to bottle up beginning to slip out. _'Damn it,'_ he thought to himself. _'Keep yourself together, Desmond. Don't let it get to you. Don't let it get to you…'_ He then relaxed and sighed and laid back down on his 'bed'. "I'd be lying if I said I had hope that it will come soon, sergeant."

He heard her scoff and say, "Enough with this 'sergeant' business, Veritas. Just call me 'Miyu' or 'Lynx'. But not 'sergeant', okay?" He glanced over at her and saw that she wore a semi-serious look on her face that was slowly becoming a smile. He couldn't help but return her smile before he could stop himself. "Okay," he said. Miyu nodded in satisfaction.

"Good. Now, you mind telling me why pushed me out of the way so you could get shot instead?"

Once again, his walls fell and a cordial chuckle came from him as he shook his head. The two of them spent the rest of their recovery time arguing about his throwing himself in front of her and then, to get back at her, about her and Katt – two professionally-trained soldiers – being bested by a dozen of horny, unskilled, and reckless apes and lizards. All the while, Dubbo and Fox watched them in bewilderment. However, all of them were unaware of the danger that still lurked outside their temporary refuge, which had now made its way inside and was closing in on them by the second.

* * *

"Hold on a second," Major Thompson said, putting up a hand as he tried to gather his head and thoughts. " _You_ , a mercenary, want to _help us_?" He scoffed. "I don't think so. Sergeant, take them out."

"Now wait just a minute, major," Wolf growled, before being discouraged by a dozen or so gun muzzles pointed in her face and prompting her to raise her hands. "What I speak is the truth. If you want proof, open up a channel to that frequency I gave you and you can see for yourself."

Another scoff. "What? And be discovered and then later obliterated? I don't think so. Ready!" The guns clicked as they were aimed at Wolf and her team, all of whom were upset with their leader and her plan not working out the way it was supposed to. But she wasn't finished.

"Fine. Go ahead and shoot us. I don't care." Everyone looked at her in surprise, including the major. "But we're your only source of information regarding that enemy base _and_ Outpost E-19. As a matter of fact, I know a way for your _Pelicans_ to avoid the AA guns at Outpost E-19."

The major's interest was piqued when she mentioned AA guns and he held off the firing squad with a wave of his hand. "Really? Would you care to share with me?" He added a smile; a smile that neither Wolf nor the Iron Wolves liked one bit.

But Wolf nodded, saying, "Yes. I would love to. But I need you to do something for me first."

"Anything," the major said, the smile still plastered on his thin face. "Just name it, and I will do it. You have my word."

"Open a channel to that frequency I gave you, and you will have your information." The smile faded from the major's face and an ugly scowl replaced it. Wolf smirked at him smugly. "What?" she asked innocently, shrugging her shoulders. The major rolled his eyes and shook his head before he turned to one of the NCOs, a sergeant, and whispered in his ear. The sergeant nodded and walked over to one of the tables and keyed in some numbers, looked up at the major and Wolf, pressed a single button, and stepped back. The table hummed for a brief second, glowed a dim blue, and then a holographic form of Admiral Silver appeared, only it was a fraction of her actual size. The arctic fox looked around in bewilderment before she settled her gaze on Wolf and glared at her.

"O'Donnell! What's the meaning of this? I explicitly ordered you to maintain radio silence, otherwise we'd be…" She faltered as the major and the other aliens gathered around the table, staring at her in bewilderment. "…compromised. Who?" She looked down at the major, who had his hands interlaced together behind his back, and bared her teeth at him. "Who are you? I demand you release O'Donnell and her team or you'll regret it!"

The major was unmoved by Silver's threat and calmly replied, "I am Major Thompson of the UNSC _Columbia_. We are not holding this 'O'Donnell' or her team hostage. She was merely informing us that she, and apparently you, is an ally of Fox McCloud, who is an ally to one of our deployed teams in the area."

Silver's snarl faded and she stared down at Thompson in stunned silence. "You…you're an _ally_ to Captain McCloud? Why wasn't I informed of this by McCloud herself?"

Thompson shook his head. "I'm afraid that's the problem, uh, whatever your name is."

"Silver," she stated with a hint of pride as she straightened her posture. "That's Admiral Silver to you, _Major Thompson_. Commanding officer of the CDF 7th Fleet, and charged with resecuring Outpost E-19 from Venom forces."

"I assume those are the apes and lizards, ma'am?" Thompson inquired.

She nodded. "That is correct, major." She raised a single eyebrow at him and she said, "You were about to explain the reason behind McCloud's lack of crucial information, correct?"

"Ah, yes. Of course." Thompson cleared his throat and said, "I believe we are on a deadline, ma'am. This McCloud and whatever remaining forces she has, as well as my own soldiers, are running low on ammunition and supplies. The last update I received from the aforementioned Outpost E-19 was three hours ago. Corporal Veritas, one of our SpecOps personnel, reported that they had been fighting for almost four hours straight. Of course, by now, that would make it—"

"Seven hours," Silver finished in astonishment. "I…don't believe it." She shook her head, then looked up at Thompson. "Major. I believe that an allegiance is an order. I wish to speak with your commander or whoever is in charge of your ship in order to make things official. In the meantime, O'Donnell and her team will assist you in retaking E-19. I—"

A dull, garbled _boom_ was heard from her side and she appeared to have lost her footing. Milliseconds later and a series of alarms and red alerts started to go off. Wolf immediately stepped in front of Thompson and demanded, "Admiral Silver! What's going on?"

"We're under attack, that's what!" she replied angrily. "Venom is making their move up here in orbit, which I can only assume has something to do with whatever it is they're doing on the surface. O'Donnell; Major Thompson. Retake the outpost, and while you're at it, demolish that Venom camp. We don't need any more surprises than we already—" Another _boom_ and the transmission was cut off. Then one of the soldiers in the distance shouted, "Incoming!" and pointed up at the lip of the hill before a ball of plasma descended into the valley encampment and detonated next to a tent full of Marines. Screams and shouts were heard as the tent went up in flames and several bodies were sent into the air, limbs going in the opposite direction. Wolf barked orders at her team and they immediately sprang into action. Wolf turned to Thompson and said, "Major, get your soldiers' butts in gear and have them follow me and my team. We know how to best handle these bastards." With that, she whipped out her blaster and made for the valley slope, where dozens of Venom soldiers were charging down it like a bunch of ants. Major Thompson, despite his disoriented state, gave the orders to his soldiers as he watched Wolf and shook his head in disbelief. "We're. Screwed," he muttered under his breath.


End file.
